Monk boudreaux
Encyclopedia
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (born Joseph Pierre Boudreaux in New Orleans, Louisiana
, U.S.
, 1941 - ) is the Big Chief of the Mardi Gras Indian
tribe, the Golden Eagles. He is widely known for his long time collaboration with Big Chief Bo Dollis in The Wild Magnolias
.
In 1970, Boudreaux appeared with the Wild Magnolias
at the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
, and also in the same year, the group released the single "Handa Wanda" on Crescent City Records, the first studio recorded music by the Mardi Gras Indians. In 1974, he appeared with the Wild Magnolias on their debut album on Barclay/Polydor Records which featured Snooks Eaglin
and Willie Tee
in the supporting musicians. Boudreaux is exclusively featured on Golden Eagles' album Lightning and Thunder, a live recording released in 1988 on Rounder Records
.
After being with the Wild Magnolias for over 30 years, Boudreaux left the group in 2001 as a result of disputes with the group's manager over guarantee payments. Since then he has performed and recorded with artists such as Anders Osborne
, Galactic
and Papa Mali
aside from the Golden Eagles.
In the recent years, he has also participated in the recording and tour of the Voice of the Wetlands All-stars, a band that also featured Tab Benoit
, Cyril Neville
, and Dr. John
among others. He is also featured on one track in the New Orleans Social Club's album Sing Me Back Home released in 2006. He currently performs regularly in New Orleans with John Lisi & Delta Funk, with whom he has also recorded.
In 2010 Boudreaux appeared in the feature-length documentary Bury the Hatchet directed by Aaron Walker. The film is an intimate look at the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, following Boudreaux and several other Mardi Gras Indian Chiefs in the year before Hurricane Katrina
, through the storm and the years after. The documentary won best Louisiana feature at the New Orleans Film festival
and a work-in-progress edit of the film won the Grand Prize and Intangible Culture Award at the Royal Anthropological Institute Festival of Ethnographic Film
in Leeds, England.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 1941 - ) is the Big Chief of the Mardi Gras Indian
Mardi Gras Indians
Mardi Gras Indians are African-American Carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel.Collectively, their organizations are called "tribes"...
tribe, the Golden Eagles. He is widely known for his long time collaboration with Big Chief Bo Dollis in The Wild Magnolias
The Wild Magnolias
-History:A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local "Indian masking" traditions and performing New Orleans Mardi Gras music, extends at least back into the 1950s. The group's lead member was called the Big Chief, and at least three Big Chiefs are known to have headed the...
.
History
In the late 1960s, Boudreaux joined the Wild Magnolias, the Mardi Gras Indian group led by his Big Chief Bo Dollis. Dollis and Boudreaux have been close friends since their childhood.In 1970, Boudreaux appeared with the Wild Magnolias
The Wild Magnolias
-History:A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local "Indian masking" traditions and performing New Orleans Mardi Gras music, extends at least back into the 1950s. The group's lead member was called the Big Chief, and at least three Big Chiefs are known to have headed the...
at the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...
, and also in the same year, the group released the single "Handa Wanda" on Crescent City Records, the first studio recorded music by the Mardi Gras Indians. In 1974, he appeared with the Wild Magnolias on their debut album on Barclay/Polydor Records which featured Snooks Eaglin
Snooks Eaglin
Snooks Eaglin, born Fird Eaglin, Jr. , was a New Orleans-based guitarist and singer. He was also referred to as Blind Snooks Eaglin in his early years....
and Willie Tee
Willie Tee
Willie Tee was an American keyboardist, songwriter, singer, producer and notable early architect of New Orleans funk and soul, who helped shape the sound of New Orleans for more than four decades.-Biography:...
in the supporting musicians. Boudreaux is exclusively featured on Golden Eagles' album Lightning and Thunder, a live recording released in 1988 on Rounder Records
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
.
After being with the Wild Magnolias for over 30 years, Boudreaux left the group in 2001 as a result of disputes with the group's manager over guarantee payments. Since then he has performed and recorded with artists such as Anders Osborne
Anders Osborne
Anders Osborne is a songwriter and singer.Anders was born in 1966 in Uddevalla, Sweden, left home at age sixteen, and hitchhiked and played music throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the U.S...
, Galactic
Galactic
Galactic is a funk and jazz jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.-Origins and background:Originally formed in 1994 as an octet and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a sextet of: guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio,...
and Papa Mali
Papa Mali
Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne is an American slide guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and is based in Austin, Texas....
aside from the Golden Eagles.
In the recent years, he has also participated in the recording and tour of the Voice of the Wetlands All-stars, a band that also featured Tab Benoit
Tab Benoit
Tab Benoit is an American blues guitarist, musician and singer. He plays a style that is a combination of blues styles, primarily Delta blues. He plays a Fender Telecaster electric guitar and writes his own musical compositions. Benoit graduated from Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma,...
, Cyril Neville
Cyril Neville
Cyril Neville , is a percussionist and vocalist who first came to prominence as a member of his brother Art Neville's funky New Orleans-based band, The Meters...
, and Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
among others. He is also featured on one track in the New Orleans Social Club's album Sing Me Back Home released in 2006. He currently performs regularly in New Orleans with John Lisi & Delta Funk, with whom he has also recorded.
In 2010 Boudreaux appeared in the feature-length documentary Bury the Hatchet directed by Aaron Walker. The film is an intimate look at the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, following Boudreaux and several other Mardi Gras Indian Chiefs in the year before Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, through the storm and the years after. The documentary won best Louisiana feature at the New Orleans Film festival
New Orleans Film Festival
The New Orleans Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the nonprofit organization New Orleans Film Society, a film society founded in 1989. The festival has been held since the society's inception. The festival takes place in mid-October. The festival, nicknamed "Cannes on the...
and a work-in-progress edit of the film won the Grand Prize and Intangible Culture Award at the Royal Anthropological Institute Festival of Ethnographic Film
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is the world's longest established anthropological organization, with a global membership. Since 1843, it has been at the forefront of new developments in anthropology and new means of communicating them to a broad audience...
in Leeds, England.
Solo
- 1988 The Golden Eagles/Lightning & Thunder (Rounder)
- 2002 Bury the Hatchet (Shanachie) with Anders OsborneAnders OsborneAnders Osborne is a songwriter and singer.Anders was born in 1966 in Uddevalla, Sweden, left home at age sixteen, and hitchhiked and played music throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the U.S...
- 2003 Mr. Stranger Man (Shanachie)
With the Wild Magnolias
- 1974 The Wild Magnolias (Barclay)
- 1975 They Call Us Wild (Barclay)
- 1990 I'm Back… at Carnival Time (Rounder)
- 1996 1313 Hoodoo Street (AIM)
- 1999 Life Is a Carnival (Metro Blue)
- 2002 30 Years .. And Still WILD! (spacing, punctuation, type case sic) (AIM)
Other
- 1992 The Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday Showdown (Rounder)
- 2005 Voice of the Wetlands (Rykodisc)
- 2006 The New Orleans Social Club/Sing Me Back Home (Burgundy)
- 2007 Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats DominoGoin' Home: A Tribute to Fats DominoGoin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino is a 2007 tribute album by various artists to Fats Domino, issued by Vanguard Records.-History:In contrast to an earlier tribute album, That's Fats: A Tribute to Fats Domino , which mostly contained previously released cover versions, Goin' Home: A Tribute to...
(VanguardVanguard RecordsVanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
)